Diary: A Week in the Life of a Professional BMC Development Rider

We are delighted to have local Swiss cycling legend Valentin Baillifard writing exclusively for Kudos Cycling. 

A fascinating insight into life on the road as a professional cyclist.

‘‘Being a pro rider is not only trying to ride fast, it’s also a lifestyle. In this blog, I’ll tell you what a typical week is like!

Every week is different though, because you adapt each day with your tiredness, goals, time of the year and when you next need to pin on a number…’’

Monday is recovery day.

After a hard weekend racing, and a long journey home, sleep is essential. It’s tough to sleep on the way back (often across countries), so a solid 10 hours is great to start the week right. I wake up later, and usually skip breakfast - heading straight on the bike for a easy hour recovery.

After the gentle spin, it’s time for lunch! Nothing dramatic, just meat and vegetables. For food, it’s the hardest day of the week. A professional cyclist in a grand Tour will easily burn over 4000 Kcal, so it’s hard to not empty the fridge.

To further help me recover, I drink a lot of water during the day. During a race you can never drink enough so it’s important to rehydrate over the next few days. During the afternoon I have a little siesta, the duration depends on the fatigue after the weekend. And then it’s back to work!

Analysing the race and my performance is critical, and I’ll take some time to work out what areas to work on and train during the week. I’ll also spend some time preparing for the next race. What’s the course? What wheels? What tactics?

Then it’s off to my physio for a recovery massage.

Tuesday is the first training day.

The day starts with a core training session, followed by a protein packed breakfast. Protein is key throughout the day. After a tough 2 hours of intervals and efforts, focussed on fast muscle fibres, your legs are destroyed.

If I have meetings with sponsors or media, I will always try to plan it on the Tuesday after training.

Wednesday is a big day.

Before a big ride, it’s another core session and big breakfast.

The riding duration will be about 4h/4h30 with a lot of climbing. Valais features 25HC climbs, so it’s not hard to gain altitude.

After training it is really important to take care of the recovery. I stick to my schedule and I never change; 5 minutes after training I have some sugar, 10 minute shower, apply the compression socks, high protein shake, 45 minutes easy stretching, 1 hour after training a full meal. I take some time to download the training on the computer, do the analysis and write feedback for the coach. Then it’s time for a well deserved siesta…

Thursday is the last good training day.

Using the same schedule as Wednesday but training will be longer, 5 hours, with lots of threshold training on climbs. After completing the training plan, I finish like the day before.

Friday ride and prepare.

Another recovery day with one or two hours of endurance/easy training.

After training I take time to plan my travel day. First I take a look at the team travel schedule and check my flight. I plan when I have to wake up and set off from home. I look at the weather forecast and prepare my bag. I wash my training bike (leaving it at home) and prepare it for my come back on Monday. I have a Skype discussion with my psychology coach.

Finally, it is time for relaxing.

Saturday is a travel day.

It’s essential I eat healthy and not to get too tired the day before the race.

We are taken to our team hotel and I’ll go for a short ride with sprints. After travelling my legs are heavy so I have to make sure they feel fresh ready for race day. After a light spin I have a massage followed by a team dinner and an early night.

Sunday is race day.

After we wake up, I have a healthy breakfast, a quick team briefing, final bike prep and then it’s time to fight!

After the race it’s a shower in the bus, and the routine starts until we go again.